Plants are pretty amazing. Despite no rain and some intense heat over the past several weeks, most of our fall crops are hanging in there. Some of them are even producing abundant and beautiful fruits like the peppers above! Nevertheless, a nice soaking rain would be extremely welcome. We have been diligently irrigating every crop that's still in the ground at least weekly - a task that has become slightly more manageable as earlier plantings are gradually tilled in. Still, despite frequent watering, the level of dryness in the soil is pretty severe. New lettuce and spinach plantings look thirsty for water within days of being irrigated, and even more established beets and broccoli droop in the afternoon heat. One crop - the cilantro that should have been ready this week - didn't make it (don't despair, we have one more planting that we're feeling good about). We were hoping that September would bring some more moderate temperatures and a little moisture, but it looks like we may have to wait a little longer for that. In the meantime, we'll just marvel at the resilience of the crops that are still producing for us and savor the endless variety of meals we can make from the late summer bounty!

Believe it or not, these lettuce seedlings were irrigated only 2 days ago!

In the CSA this Week

Colored Peppers - red, orange and yellow bell peppers, as well as red and orange "corno di toro" types will be available. The bell peppers have thicker walls, while the corno di toro (bull's horn) types have thinner walls and are particularly great for frying. Lise's favorite way to eat to eat the corno di toro type is a Bulgarian specialty called chushki burek - click here for a recipe!

Bolero carrots - We've moved on to the forst of our fall carrot plantings. The carrots are really long and skinny right now (they're searching for water deeper in the soil!), but they'll fill out and get sweeter as temperatures cool.

Spaghetti squash

Heirloom Tomatoes

Slicing tomatoes - both red and orange varieties

Paste tomatoes

Eggplant

Cucumbers

Beets - Golden and Chioggia

Leeks

Red Russian Kale

Baby Bok Choi

Kale

Collards

Swiss Chard - a new planting is ready and it looks gorgeous

Lettuce

CSA PYO:

Green and purple beans - these are really tender and sweet right now. The purple ones will actually turn green when cooked, but they are really pretty (and tasty) raw!

Husk cherries

Tomatillos - see the recipe for Salsa Verde below. It is great with chips, on top of chicken, in enchilladas, or really whatever strikes your fancy!

Cherry tomatoes - the sungolds and black cherries are dwindling, but the Mountain Magic, grape, Jasper and Matt's Wild are still cranking!

Hot peppers - jalapenos, serrano, capperino, ancho and cayenne

Herbs - the Genovese basil has finally succumbed to downy mildew, but we still have amethyst and Thai basil, parsley, thyme, and sage

In the store:

In addition to the crops listed above, we should have watermelon, summer squash and zucchini, mustard greens, some Happy Rich broccolini on Tuesday and Verrill Farm sweet corn. Also, we'll have bulk pricing available on pickling cucumbers as well as plum and slicing tomatoes.

Preheat the broiler with a rack about 4 inches below the heat source. Place the tomatillos and jalapeño(s) on a rimmed baking sheet and broil until they're blackened in spots, about 5 minutes.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven, carefully flip over the tomatillos and pepper(s) with tongs and broil for 4 to 6 more minutes, until the tomatillos are splotchy-black and blistered.

Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, combine the chopped onion, cilantro, 2 tablespoons lime juice and ½ teaspoon salt. Once the tomatillos are out of the oven, carefully transfer the hot tomatillos, pepper(s) and all of their juices into the food processor or blender.

Pulse until the mixture is mostly smooth and no big chunks of tomatillo remain, scraping down the sides as necessary. Season to taste with additional lime juice and salt, if desired. If you'd like to make creamy avocado salsa verde, let the salsa cool down before blending in 1 to 2 diced avocados (the more avocado, the creamier it gets).